Holiday luncheon closes out 2022 with festive vibes
The science department gathered together enjoying their homemade meal! Pictured from clockwise around: Mrs. Guest, Mrs. Saxon, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Houck, Mrs. Cummings, and Mr. White. Photo Courtesy of: Kelli McGee
December 21, 2022
Mrs. Michelle Mason, one of the two foods teachers, has had her hands full these last few weeks setting up the holiday luncheon. It’s safe to say today and the last few weeks might’ve been stressful, but in the end, it was a huge success. With more than fifty teachers, custodial, and office staff present throughout the two hours of the luncheon, the event was jam-packed.
Guests had three tasty things on their plate: a roll, a cookie, and the option of either vegetarian or meat chili. The upper classes prepared the food and helped with serving, and lower classes helped serve and clean up. The guests then could choose to take the food to-go or sit in Mrs. Mason’s room, which had been converted into a dining room for the lunch. With Christmas music and holiday vibes, it was hard to not get in the holiday mood. Mr. Taylor, who attended the lunch, says the food was delicious and he really admired the work that the students, Mrs. Mason, and Ms. Richie put into it.
English department members, Ms. Rizer, Mrs. Walter, Mrs. Miller, and Mrs. Price, all agreed that they enjoyed both the ambiance and the food. “We usually eat in a classroom and of course pack our own lunches,” explained Mrs. Price, “so it was such a nice treat to eat in a cozy environment with a delicious lunch I didn’t have to pack!”
Mrs. Price also added that it was obvious that “every detail had been nicely planned out, from the greeting, to the food service, to the dining room experience.”
Although the foods program is fantastic in teaching kids’ management, cooking, and baking skills, it does lack in giving customer service experience. As a result, the luncheon not only served as a tasty meal for the teachers and staff, but it was also a learning experience for the students in the food program.
Mrs. Mason says, “The one area that I cannot give you guys a whole lot of real-world experience in is customer service. This was one way in the upper levels that you get the real-world experience of being the manager, having to plan it out, change the recipe yields, do a purchase order, cost it out for the invoice and then we had to come up with a production schedule for the days and then who was going to help with what.”
The luncheon was a great success, and the school faculty and staff look forward to more experiences like this one in the future!
